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Elder Athanasios Mitilinaios on Freedom and Slavery in 1 Corinthians 6
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What the video says
The speaker opens with Paul's words to the Corinthians, "Everything is allowed to me, but not everything is beneficial; everything is allowed to me, but I will not be enslaved by any of them", and links them to the parable of the prodigal son, who was free to leave but chose what was not beneficial. Freedom, he explains, must be understood in relation to existence; a freedom that ignores existence can destroy it, as with the right to take drugs that leads to ruin.
Paul's statement addressed the Corinthians on food, but they misapplied it to justify sin, especially sexual immorality in a city devoted to Aphrodite. The apostle gives three arguments: the body will be resurrected, the body is a member of Christ's body through Holy Communion, and the body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. To glorify God with the body means to keep it pure so that one's very presence becomes a doxological act.
Freedom and rationality are inseparable gifts; true freedom preserves existence for eternity, whether through purity or martyrdom, while misuse through the passions enslaves and destroys.
Key moments
- The speaker quotes 1 Corinthians: "Everything is allowed to me, but not everything is beneficial. Everything is allowed to me, but I will not be enslaved by any of them." The church pairs this reading with the parable of the prodigal son, who was free to leave his father's house but chose what was not beneficial.
- Paul defines freedom in relation to existence. Indiscriminate use of freedom can be fatal; one is free to drink poison but it destroys existence.
- The speaker gives the example of drugs: a person has the right and freedom to take them, but this freedom harms existence and can lead to destruction. Freedom is often viewed without consideration for existence, but the word of God connects the two.
- The second clause, "I will not be enslaved by any of them", shows freedom can enslave. In the name of freedom, people cultivate passions that become compulsions. A drug user says he was free to use but is now hooked and needs saving from compulsion. The person becomes like a blinded donkey driven in circles. We become slaves of the devil; when we become slaves of God, we become free.
- Paul spoke these words in Corinth regarding food. Under the old law, food restrictions existed for pedagogical reasons. Paul says all things are clean, but people isolate phrases and misinterpret them, as with "Test everything, retain the good" twisted into "try everything."
- First argument: the body will be resurrected. The digestive system will be done away with, but God will raise the body by his power. Since the body will be resurrected and present life has an eternal dimension, one cannot give the present body over to sin.
- Second argument: our bodies are members of Christ's body. Through Holy Communion, one receives Christ physically and spiritually, becoming a member of his body. Paul asks rhetorically whether one would make the parts of Christ parts of an immoral woman, citing Scripture that the one joined to an immoral woman becomes one body with her. The speaker notes people commit sins of the flesh and approach Communion without confession, before which Paul shudders.
- Third argument: the body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Pagan understanding placed gods on Olympus, separate from humans. The true God revealed he dwells within man. A living temple of God cannot become a place of sin. The speaker adds that glorifying God with the body means keeping it pure so that one's presence becomes a doxological act.
Elder Athanasios Mitilinaios examines Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 6:12-20, "Everything is allowed to me, but not everything is beneficial; everything is allowed to me, but I will not be enslaved by any of them." He links the passage to the parable of the prodigal son, who was free to leave his father's house but chose what was not beneficial.
The elder explains that freedom must be understood in relation to existence; a freedom that ignores existence can destroy it, as with the right to take drugs that leads to ruin. Paul addressed the Corinthians on food, but they misapplied his words to justify sexual immorality in a city devoted to Aphrodite. The apostle gives three arguments. First, the body will be resurrected; the digestive system will be done away with, but God will raise the body by his power.
Since the body will be resurrected and present life has an eternal dimension, one cannot give the present body over to sin. Second, our bodies are members of Christ's body. Through Holy Communion one receives Christ physically and spiritually, becoming a member of his body. Paul asks rhetorically whether one would make the parts of Christ parts of an immoral woman, citing Scripture that the one joined to an immoral woman becomes one body with her.
The elder notes that people commit sins of the flesh and approach Communion without confession, before which Paul shudders. Third, the body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. The true God revealed he dwells within man; a living temple of God cannot become a place of sin. Glorifying God with the body means keeping it pure so that one's presence becomes a doxological act.
Freedom and rationality are inseparable gifts; true freedom preserves existence for eternity, whether through purity or martyrdom, while misuse through the passions enslaves and destroys.
Main points
- Freedom must be understood in relation to existence; freedom that ignores existence destroys it, as illustrated by the right to take drugs that leads to ruin.
- Paul's words on food were misapplied by the Corinthians to justify sexual immorality in a city devoted to Aphrodite.
- First argument: the body will be resurrected by God's power, so the present body cannot be given over to sin.
- Second argument: through Holy Communion the body becomes a member of Christ's body; joining it to immorality makes Christ's members parts of an immoral woman.
- Third argument: the body is a temple of the Holy Spirit; glorifying God with the body means keeping it pure so one's presence becomes a doxological act.